Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 10 - Chapter 8

8. Does the Past Chase After Us?

Shihoru didn’t know how she should call out to the person on the other side of the bars.

It seemed even in Jessie Land, which was by no means a large place, they needed a jail. This building had apparently been built to serve that function.

There were no windows, and only the light of the setting sun which shone through the now-open door faintly illuminated the inside.

Wooden bars separated a dirt floor corridor from three rooms. Two on the right side of the corridor, one on the left.

In the front room on the right was Enba, with his one arm bound to his body and his legs fettered, and in the back room was Shuro Setora, also bound hand and foot. In addition, Kiichi the gray nyaa had been put in the left room.

Kiichi was curled up in a corner of the room, sleeping. Enba was standing in the center of his room. Setora was sitting with her back against the wall, staring at the opposite wall. She didn’t even spare a glance at Shihoru, who was on the other side of the bars.

“Um...” Shihoru looked, not at Setora, but at Jessie, who was beside her. “Why is it just them... that have to be confined like this?”

“Out of caution, of course.” Jessie stroked his bearded chin. “Since she’s a woman of the Shuro family, I understand her being a necromancer and bringing around a flesh golem with her. However, her being a nyaa tamer at the same time... That’s suspicious, or dangerous, you could say. Despite how they look, nyaas are frightening creatures. If you train them, they’ll perform assassinations, or anything else you might want them to.”

Setora snorted.

Jessie smiled faintly and put his fingers on the wooden bars. “What’s so funny?”

“For all your talk, it seems you do not understand us, or our nyaas.”

“No, Kuzen remnant,” he said. “I know all about your people. More than you know yourselves, perhaps.”

Setora turned her face towards them. It didn’t show on her face, but Shihoru could still tell she was surprised. “...You. You’re not just a volunteer soldier dropout.”

“I’ve learned a little history, that’s all,” Jessie said. “You people used nyaas for everything. Even raised nyaas that would only eat orcish meat. Nyaas are intelligent creatures, but they have no conscience or morals. Depending how they’re raised, they’ll do even the most heinous of things with no compunctions. They’re similar to golems in that way. You people specialize in running and hiding, and devising tools with which to murder people. Then you use them.”

“Our country was destroyed, and we were driven from our land,” Setora said. “We had to overcome hard times.”

“I understand that. I do sympathize. For my part, at least. Still, I can’t bring myself to trust you people, you know. Besides, you people don’t trust anyone but yourselves, do you? That’s why you’ve hidden yourselves away in Thousand Valley.”

“When our motherland was attacked, no one offered to help us,” she retorted. “How could we trust outsiders so easily?”

“In other words, you chose the path of isolation for yourselves. How am I to trust people who make no attempt to get along with others? Even among yourselves, you’re quick to cut off anyone who breaks your laws.”

“I cast aside the village.”

“Considering you’re an eccentric who was born into the house of Shuro, but decided to raise nyaas, weren’t you always being excluded anyway?”

“Um...!” Shihoru couldn’t hold herself back anymore, and forced herself to speak.

Jessie’s blue eyes turned to look at Shihoru. There was something strange about this man’s eyes. Something wrong. It might not just be his eyes. It was probably his entire face.

Jessie’s face—If she removed his skin, and the muscles beneath, she felt like she might find an entirely different face. The man’s face didn’t seem fake, but it didn’t seem real, either.

“Setora-san takes good care of her nyaas,” Shihoru said hesitantly. “She wouldn’t have them do the things you’re talking about... That’s what I think. Now, sure... It’s not like we’ve been together all the time... I might not even be able to call her a comrade. Setora-san herself... might not see me that way. But still... even so, she’s saved us repeatedly... I don’t know much about the hidden village, but Setora-san is a person I can trust.”

“I see.” Jessie held his chin, and tilted his head to the side a little. “I understand you’re softhearted. Oh, I don’t mean that sarcastically. It’s my honest opinion. I like girls like you. Oh, you might take that the wrong way. It’s not affection, it’s positive regard. For my part, at least.”

“...Thank you.”

“You’re straightforward, but not thoughtless. That’s good, too. Anyway...” Jessie tapped on the wooden bars with the back of his hand. “I still can’t trust her. I’m working through this game carefully. If you don’t take things seriously, it’s no fun, right?”

Shihoru furrowed her brow. “Game...?”

“I’ll decide how to deal with her later. Come along, Shihoru.”

Jessie started walking towards the exit, and gestured for her to follow.

Shihoru looked at Setora. She had her eyes on the wall again. It was going to be take a lot of effort to get Setora to recognize her as a comrade.

She followed Jessie outside, and it was already pretty dark out. None of the residents were out walking around. They must have been cooking dinner. Smoke from cooking fires rose from each of the houses.

“Now then, Shihoru, you’ve seen the situation in various parts of Jessie Land, so...” Jessie kept talking as he walked. “What do you think?”

Kuzaku had been sent out to do manual labor. Yume had been taken outside of the village by one of the guys in coats. Merry was attending to Haruhiro. Setora, Enba, and Kiichi were imprisoned.

Shihoru had been taken around to various places by Jessie. She had been to the fields and residents’ houses, gone inside the livestock barns and warehouses, and seen the well, the irrigation system, the water mill, and other facilities. Jessie had only answered simple questions, along the lines of, Is this a waterwheel?

“What do I think... about what?” she asked.

“Do you think you could live here?”

“It’s a quiet...” Shihoru looked down, and chose her words. “...peaceful town. It’s orderly, too... So long as we have food and water, we can live.”

“Well, yes, obviously. But isn’t it boring to just live?”

“...I suppose, yes.”

“You were a volunteer soldier, so I can understand you not being able to leave behind a lifestyle with so much stimulation. For my part, at least.”

“I think... I might be better suited to a peaceful life,” she said.

“I was exhausted,” Jessie agreed. “Exhausted? No, that’s not it. What was it? I got tired of it? I can’t say precisely how I felt back then. Regardless, I quit being a volunteer soldier, left my comrades, and was alone. A solo trip, you could say, to wherever the wind, and my feelings, took me. There’s an expression like that in Japanese, right?”

“Uhh... Japanese...”

“You’re Japanese, right? From Japan. Though, even if I say that, you wouldn’t know.”

“I don’t...”

Shihoru’s feet stopped moving on their own. She felt like she was forgetting something important.

This wasn’t the first time it had happened, either. There had been similar occurrences before. Many times. So many times she’d lost count.

She gently shook her head. If she moved it too quickly, she felt like she might collapse. Where...? Where was this...?

Jessie Land.

A village in the mountains.

Grimgar.

What is this place?

There was a crow-like bird cawing somewhere.

She hated crows; they were scary.

If she was carrying sweets, they’d sometimes attack.

They remembered when humans had tasty things on them.

Walking through the town at sunset, turning back, her shadow was unpleasantly long. It made her want to run despite herself. But run and run as she might, when she turned back, the shadow was there. It followed her everywhere. It was her own shadow, so that was to be expected, but it scared her.

It scared her beyond all reason.

“You’re such a scaredy cat, Shihoru,” somebody mocked. “You always have been.”

Who’s saying that...?

I don’t know.

I can’t remember.

I forget.

About you.

About everything.

That there was a person there at all.

There?

Where?

Somewhere not here?

That’s...

Oh...

I don’t know.

I don’t know. I don’t know.

I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.

“I...”

Shihoru covered her face with her hands.

I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.

“What was I...?”

“Are you okay?” a man asked.

There was a hand placed on her shoulder.

She raised her face.

On the man’s shadowy face, only his two blue eyes seemed to shine brilliantly.

“...I’m... fi...ne,” Shihoru managed. “Did I... say something, just now...?”

“‘I don’t know,’” Jessie responded. “That’s what you were saying. You said, ‘I don’t know.’”

“...I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to worry about it,” Jessie said. “That’s normal.”

“Normal...?”

“I’m sure you don’t understand what I’m saying. That’s how it is. If something seems meaningless even when you think about it, you’re better off not to think about it, right?”

“Meaningless...” she murmured.

Jessie crouched down next to Shihoru’s ear. “That’s right. There’s no meaning to it,” he whispered. “Japan. Tokyo. Shinjuku. Akihabara. You’ll forget everything that happens after hearing those things. I don’t know the reason. For my part, at least, there’s no helping it. You’ll even forget that you’ve forgotten.”

She felt like her brain was being stirred up.

Memories.

Things she remembered.

They were inside her head.

Whatever form they took, they were carved into her brain somewhere.

That was the part of her that Jessie’s words touched. Like a pair of fingers, pinching at her memories.

Twisting, then crushing them. That, or moving them to a different place.

However, they needed to exist where they were. If he moved them, they would cease to function as memories.

That can’t be right.

After all, Jessie had just been whispering something to her. But what?

He’d said something.

xx.

xx.

xx.

xxx.

xxxx.

xxxxx.

xxx■■■■.

■■■■■■■■.

■■■■■■■■■.

No.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

“Shihoru,” he said. “You came to Grimgar from Japan, too, didn’t you?”

Japan.

xxxxx.

■■■■■.

Came?

To Grimgar.

“From out of that tower that never opens...”

Out?

Of the tower that never opens. Tower that xxxxx xxxxx. xxxxx that ■■■■■ ■■■■■. ■■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■.

—x.

Tower. From that tower.

“Um... Where is this, do you think?”

Someone was asking that.

“Um, d-does anyone...”

—Was that her?

“...know? Where is this place?”

Asking did no good.

No one was saying anything.

No one knew.

They didn’t know.

“Did you see the red moon, too?” Jessie asked. “When you first saw the red moon, what did you think?”

...The moon.

The red... moon.

That was right. She’d seen the red moon. The moon was red, and she’d gulped despite herself.

“I don’t know how it’s set up,” Jessie said. “But you people forget. I was the same at one time. It was a coincidence.”

“A coincidence...”

“Something happened, you see,” Jessie said. “As for what exactly... It’s a private matter, and doesn’t concern you directly, so it’s not that important. In any case, because a number of special circumstances happened to coincide, I recalled everything, and I stopped forgetting, too. Fascinating, right?”

“You... know?” Shihoru said slowly.

“The truth? You’re asking if I know the truth? I wonder about that. I have no way to test it, after all. It may all just be a grandiose fantasy of my own making. At the very least, it’s a fact as far as I’m concerned, and that’s all I can say.”

“What... are you?” she whispered.

“Me?”

Jessie moved away from Shihoru and closed one eye.

“My name Jessie Smith. I was volunteer soldier.”

He spoke with a deliberately heavy accent. Normally, there wasn’t anything odd about the way he spoke. He spoke fluently, but his intonation was just a bit off at times.

That, and Jessie would add, “For my part, at least.”

“For my part, at least.”

It felt like she had heard it several times. There was no need to say that. Was it a simple speech quirk? It bugged her.

“For my part, at least.”

“This place... the place you call Jessie Land... just what... is it?”

“It’s a game.” Jessie thrust out his chest, spread his arms wide, and spun around. “In terms of genre, I was more of an FPS or RPG fan, but I didn’t mind simulation games, either. I built this village from nothing.”

“F... R... simu... Come again?”

“The people are what are called gumows,” Jessie went on. “In Orcish, it means something like ‘demi.’ Basically, it refers to children that orcs forced humans or other races to give birth to, as well as their descendants.”

“Then... the residents of Jessie Land are...”

“Exactly. They’re all gumows.”

“These... gumows... Are they oppressed?”

“You’re fast on the uptake, so that makes things quick. That’s right,” Jessie said. “Orcs discriminate against gumows. Violently, at that. Orcs value bloodlines highly to begin with. While that’s lightened somewhat over how it used to be, clans are still important. You know what clans are, right?”

“They have shared ancestors, and a shared last name... right?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Jessie suddenly started walking, so Shihoru hurried after him.

“To spread their blood, and to strengthen their clan, orcs would often abduct and rape women from other clans. Maybe this isn’t a good conversation for me to be having with a girl.”

“...No. I’m fine.”

“When the Alliance of Kings was formed, and when Kuzen, Ishmal, Nananka, Arabakia, and the elf and dwarf lands were invaded, the orcs did as they always had. The humans had seen orcs as savages or beasts, enslaving them and putting them on display, so there was an element of revenge to it, too, I’m sure. Honestly, I’m not sure I should be saying this to a girl, but I’ll bet all that murder and rape was a great way to take out their frustrations. The surprise was that humans, elves, and dwarves could interbreed with orcs.”

“There were children,” Shihoru said.

“See, that’s the thing. It should be a surprise. I mean, cats and dogs are both mammals, they walk on four legs, and they have tails, and if they got in the right mood, they could even copulate. I doubt they ever do get in the right mood, though. Regardless, it’s possible. However, it would never produce offspring. With two dogs, no matter how different they look, even a Chihuahua and a Saint Bernard, it’s theoretically possible for them to get pregnant.”

“Chihuahua?”

“It’s a tiny dog. They’re a small breed of dog. Saint Bernards are really big. The size difference is so huge, it’s unbelievable. Even closely-related species like lions and tigers can interbreed. However, only for one generation. Well, what about humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs, then?”

“‘The children orcs forced other races to give birth to, and their descendants’... You were just talking about that.”

“That’s right, I did say that. Gumows can reproduce together. If it was a gumow with an orc, or a gumow with a human, those pairings would probably be fine, too. Did you understand, Shihoru? Basically, this means that humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs are extremely closely-related species.”

“...Like how dogs can look very different?”

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it? Did they diverge through a process of evolution? Or were their genetics similar by chance? Or were they created to be that way? Whatever the case, they’re kin. Humans, orcs, elves, and dwarves, they’re like siblings. Normally, siblings don’t do it, and—excuse me, this is a crude way to put it—while they wouldn’t usually be driven by lust to engage in sexual intercourse, it’s not that they can’t. If they decide to do it, they can. There will be children, too.”

Jessie used large gestures as he spoke. When he got into what he was talking about, that was apparently what he did. It was likely a habit of his.

Still, why did this man know so much? He recalled things, and he’d stopped forgetting. That was what Jessie had said. What did he mean by it?

Could it be that Shihoru had known this, too, before forgetting?

She’d forgotten the things she had known. That’s why all the things Jessie was talking about sounded completely unfamiliar to her.

Jessie didn’t stop. He continued speaking smoothly and articulately. “For the orcs, the birth of a large number of gumows was both a great shock and a mark of shame. More than a few gumows were disposed of like trash while they were still babies. I can understand why. The gumows carried in them the blood of the humans, elves, and dwarves that they hated. However, it’s not like they were all killed. The orcs aren’t as savage as humans think they are. They couldn’t expect to be treated equally to an orc, but many gumows were allowed to live. Go to any large orcish city. There are gumows working everywhere. They do jobs no one wants, for food only fit for livestock, and somehow manage to live. They’re ugly, unsanitary, smelly, and if they approach an orc without taking the proper caution, they’ll either get yelled at or kicked until they run away. They’re not worth anything. They live on by the mercy of the orcs. That’s your standard gumow. They have no dignity, of course. Do you feel bad for them, Shihoru?”

“They look different on the outside, but they aren’t so different from us...” Shihoru said slowly. “That’s what I think.”

“You’re right. The gumows’ appearance makes an impact. Their build is somewhere between an orc’s and a human’s, I’d say. They’re not that far from human. Generally speaking, they’re about as intelligent as humans or orcs. Teach them, and they can learn anything. The gumows living in orcish cities are mean, underhanded, and slothful. But that’s the fault of their environment, I’m sure. If you give the gumows in my Jessie Land ten, they’ll try to give you eleven or twelve back in return. If seems like if they can’t pay you back with ten to twenty percent more, they aren’t satisfied. There are some with violent tempers, yes, but if you lock them up for a day or two, they’ll repent, and act more docile. On the whole, they’re obedient, and hard workers. They’re basically the ideal villagers. It helps that they’re easy to manage, but that takes away some of the entertainment value.”

“That’s why... you want to add us... as villagers?” Shihoru asked.

Jessie’s shoulders heaved with laughter, but he didn’t answer.

Eventually, they left the area where the buildings were concentrated. There were fields to the left and right.

The sun had already set.

“Shihoru.” Jessie came to a stop.

“...Yes?”

Shihoru let out a short breath. Her grip on her staff naturally tightened.

“You use unusual magic. Where did you learn it?”

This man probably had a stronger sense of curiosity than anyone. He liked to learn things. She had anticipated he would ask her eventually. There were things Shihoru wanted to learn, too.

“You countered my magic with a Magic Missile,” Shihoru replied. “I never thought someone could use it like that. Besides, you... don’t look like a mage.”

“Because I’m not a mage,” Jessie said with a shrug. “For my part, at least.”

There it was again.

For my part, at least.

Jessie turned back. “Could you try using it again? That magic. I want to see it once more, closely.”

“I might try to take you down, you know.”

“If anything, I actually want you to try. It’s fine. It’s really hard to kill me. You’re no idiot, so you understand that, right?”

“Dark.”

When Shihoru called, the unseen door opened and he appeared. No, there was no door. He was always there. It might be more appropriate to say that elementals were always everywhere. However, they were invisible. Even a mage like Shihoru couldn’t see them.

Magical creatures. Elementals. In the mages’ guild, mysteriously, they would never teach exactly what they were. But they definitely existed, it was possible to sense them, and magic borrowed their power to produce its effects. Once she had been shown clearly that this was the case and tried using magic for herself, she’d had no choice but to believe it.

The things called elementals existed. The way Shihoru thought of them, they probably had no defined form. Arve. Kanon. Faltz. Darsh. Those varieties didn’t exist.

In all likelihood, they were entirely different from what Shihoru and the others thought of as living creatures. Invisible, and without mass. If you used your common sense, you wouldn’t say that something like that existed. They were different even in the way they existed.

The existential axis of the elementals and of Shihoru and the others were parallel, and they would never cross ordinarily. Mages called elementals to this side. By doing that, a point of connection was formed.

Normally, a mage used elemental sigils or spells to do that. By focusing their mind, imagining a specific elemental, and chanting a specific spell, it was possible to pull in an elemental. She firmly believed that. If she followed the path of those who came before her, the path the pioneering mages had carved out and established, she could use the same magic they did. In a way, that was the essence of the magic she had learned in the guild, and its secret.

Shihoru’s Dark appeared as a dark vortex, taking on a star-like form, and it hovered just above her shoulder.

When she called the elemental to this side, Shihoru anthropomorphized him. That was the easiest way to come up with an image. He had no heart that could communicate with humans. Even so, it was convenient in many ways to posit that he did.

“That’s interesting. It’s like summoning magic.” Jessie drew elemental sigils with the index finger of his right hand. “Marc em Parc.”

Magic Missile.

A shining ball manifested in front of Jessie’s chest.

It was big.

It had been small at first, a perfectly ordinary Magic Missile, until it had gotten bigger.

Based on what she had learned in the mages’ guild, she was forced to think it was odd. By following a set procedure, an expected effect was triggered. That was what they called magic. That was why, in the mages’ guild, they learned how to perform proper magic the proper way.

However, his trick was basically the same as her Dark. It was a matter of how he called the elemental to this side, and how he used its power. Shihoru had used Dark as her method. Jessie was accomplishing the same with a Magic Missile. They might look different, but both were elementals.

“...Go, Dark.”

With a sound like shuvyuuung, Dark went straight forward. Shihoru didn’t hold back. Dark accelerated, heading for Jessie at top speed.

The corners of Jessie’s mouth turned upwards just a little. With a gesture like he was pushing it with his right hand, he sent the ball of light forward.

Immediately afterwards, Shihoru willed, Turn.

Dark, who had been going straight, changed course. To the right. It wasn’t a sharp-angled turn, but he didn’t collide with the ball of light. He traced an arc around the ball, with the intent to hit Jessie.

Jessie had said to try to take him out, so she deliberately made the attempt. But it didn’t work. She’d known it wouldn’t.

As expected, the Magic Missile moved in response to Dark.

It hit him.

For a second, the light grew stronger, then there was a gust of wind. Not sideways, but a strong upwards draft. Her hat was nearly blown off, and her body felt like it might lift into the air.

Dark was swallowed up by the ball of light. Then again, the ball of light also disappeared, so it might be more accurate to say they consumed one another.

Shihoru couldn’t breathe either in or out.

She knew. She’d known for a while. More than that, she had known all along.

The flaming Arve resembled burning flames.

The freezing Kanon resembled icy crystals.

The electric Falz resembled lightning.

The shadowy Darsh resembled a mass of dark seaweed.

The four types of elementals. Elementals were everywhere. They sucked up the power of a mage’s spirit, their magic power, to manifest and to unleash their power.

“I’m not a mage,” Jessie said with his eyes downcast, almost as if he were making excuses. “But, for certain reasons, I guess you could say, I can use magic. Shihoru. Who did you learn under in the mages’ guild?”

Shihoru could finally breathe again. Steadying her breath, she answered, “My chief instructor was Wizard Yoruka.”

“Yoruka. Ohh. She made wizard, huh? That’s impressive, given how young she must still be.”

“However, I underwent basic training with Wizard Sarai.”

“That’s a real senior mage,” Jessie commented.

“Wizard Yoruka told me... that the things Wizard Sarai taught me would become an invaluable asset. Even if I didn’t understand them now... later, I’d realize that.”

“That makes sense,” Jessie nodded. “In that case, did she say anything about the meaning behind having every mage learn Magic Missile first?”

Magic Missile. It wasn’t Arve, Kanon, Falz, or Darsh. What kind of elemental was it? She vaguely remembered having that doubt crop up in her mind at the end of basic training.

“No... Nothing directly.”

“I see. Even if she didn’t convey it clearly, she gave you the key, huh.”

“The key...”

Shihoru clutched her staff. Her hands... no, her entire body... was trembling.

—The key. That was right.

She’d been given the key long ago.

From there, she’d needed only to fit it into the keyhole, turn it, unlock the door, and open it. Despite that, Shihoru had kept the key in her pocket, not even giving it a proper look. In a way, Wizard Sarai and Wizard Yoruka had told her everything.

Shihoru had taken an incredibly roundabout route. She didn’t think the effort was in vain, but if she had realized sooner, she might have been able to do things back then that she still couldn’t. When her comrades were in difficult situations, Shihoru could have offered a hand, and pulled them up.

I’m an idiot.

I’m worthless, and a moron.

That was something she already knew, though. And she had improved from before, so it was best not to think that way. She had to keep it firmly in mind.

She was inferior. That was why she had to think her hardest, and could never stop walking. If she stopped, she would decide it wasn’t worth it anymore, sit down, and no longer be able to make progress.

Shihoru looked upwards, and took a breath. Then she fixed her eyes on Jessie.

“You said... you’re not a mage.”

“I did.”

“Despite that, you know a lot. Why is that?”

“It’s not something I can explain briefly.”

“Even if it’s not brief, I don’t mind in the slightest.”

“Oh, did you not get what I was saying?” Jessie cocked his head to the side. “I was trying to be indirect. Maybe I chose a bad way of saying it.”

In other words, he didn’t want to say. He probably meant he had no intention of telling her.

It was probably best not to trust this man, after all. He hadn’t needed treatment even after taking Haruhiro’s Backstab, and he kept a lot of secrets. He looked human, seemed to be a former volunteer soldier, and knew a lot about Alterna, too. However, at least now, he wasn’t human in the same way that Shihoru and the others were. It was best to think that way.

For the present, she had no choice but to listen to him. To not resist, to earn his trust if possible, and wait for her chance. But then...

“By the way, Shihoru.”

“...Yes?”

If she acted too obedient, it might seem forced, and he’d see through her. If she tried to build a web of lies, it would surely collapse. While doing her best not to be untruthful, she would deceive him about the most important of things. Could she do that? Even if it was difficult, she would.

She didn’t know what his intentions were, but Jessie was leading Shihoru around like this. If they were going to be together, she had the chance to curry his favor.

“What is it?” she asked.

“That’s one hell of a body you’ve got.”

“...Huh?”

“Do you look even better with those clothes off?”

“Whuh...?”

Unable to understand what was just said to her, she fell deep into thought.

Oh, I get it.

The moment she figured it out, she got scared, and jumped back a little.

“...I-I-I-I-III-III don’t have th-th-th-thaaaat great a body, I-I-I-I-I’m just fat, that’s all. I-If you saw it, you’d just be disappointed, s-s-so, um, I-I can’t show it off to anyone!”

“I was joking.” Jessie laughed. “You really are entertaining, you know that.”

“J-Joking...”

Oh, right. Joking. Yeah. Of course it was a joke. Obviously. Who would ever want to see her ugly, unsightly body? Not that she’d let him see it if he did. Even though it was nothing so important. She couldn’t. That was one thing she absolutely couldn’t do.

It was a joke. But was it really a joke? She couldn’t trust this man. How could she say for sure that he wasn’t a degenerate who might turn his poisonous fangs not necessarily on Shihoru, but on anyone he pleased?

“...I-I’m sorry about that.” Shihoru cleared her throat. “I’m embarrassed... to have taken it so seriously...”

“Nah. If you don’t mind, I’m up for doing it anytime, though.”

“I-It’s not that I don’t mind... though...”

“I told you, I’m joking.”

“Jessie...” she muttered.

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“No... Nothing. I think you must have imagined it.”

“Really? I could swear I heard someone whispered my name with murderous intent...”

Jessie suddenly spun around. He was facing to the northwest. Shihoru looked that way, too.

Someone was walking along the road through the fields. Who could it be?

The gumow residents had already finished their farm work, and returned to their houses. It was pretty dark.

Shihoru narrowed her eyes. It wasn’t just one person; there were two. One was waving.

“Meow! Shihoruuuuuu!”

“Yume!” Shihoru waved back. “Welcome home, Yume! Did nothing happen?! Good!”

“I’m back! Yume’s doin’ real great! How’re you, Shihoru?!”

“Erm, me, too! I’m fine, just like you can see!”

“Oh! That’s swelled! No, that’s wrong! It’s swell!”

“It really is!”

“How’s everyone else?! What’re they doin’?!”

“Everyone’s...!” Shihoru felt a pain in her throat, and held it with her hand.

“No need to shout so loud.” Jessie laughed so hard his shoulders heaved. “You can talk all you want once you’re closer.”

“Right...”

“Shiiiihoruuuu! Yume’s comin’ right over!”

“Y-You don’t have to rush...”

“Okay!” Yume cried. “Tuokin, time to dash!”

“...You don’t have to run, either.”

But Yume probably couldn’t hear Shihoru’s voice now that she had stopped shouting.

Yume tapped the person with her on the back, and they both took off running.

“They’re getting along,” Shihoru murmured.

If she were to say it was like Yume to do that, it was, but even though it always happened, she was still surprised. How was it that Yume could get along with anyone, even crossing racial boundaries? Honestly, Shihoru envied her. Yume seemed to shine so brightly. In the past, she had even been jealous. The recent past, too; it wasn’t like it had been five or ten years ago.

If she thought about it, it hadn’t even been two years since they’d come to Grimgar. She had no concrete memories of her life before that. However, there must have been all sorts of things. It wasn’t like she’d been spontaneously born into Grimgar with a poof. She was certain of that, just as she was certain that the memories she should have were missing.

That made these two years everything Shihoru had, and more precious than anything. The people she’d met, the things she’d lost, she wanted to hug all of it tightly for as long as she could.

Yume passed the gumow in the coat who was accompanying her at top speed, and broke away by a wide margin. “Shihoruuu!” She raised her right hand.

“Huh?! Wh-What...?!”

Even though she was flustered, Shihoru still managed to move her staff to her left hand, and extend her right.

Yume declared, “Yume meowins!” and slapped her right hand against Shihoru’s.

There was a loud clap, which startled Shihoru, and she closed her eyes despite herself. Her palm hurt, but for some reason, it felt good, too.

Yume followed it up by jumping on her, and Shihoru’s head was knocked back. “Meowhahahah! Shihoruuu!”

“Eek!”

Shihoru’s legs were unsteady. Before she could trip, Yume lifted Shihoru up and spun her around sideways.

“Whoa... Whoa! Y-Yume, th-this is dange...! My eyes are spin...!”

“Whoa!” Yume cried. “If that’s it, we’ll try doin’ a reverse spin on the trouble!”

“Th-That’s not the problem...! A-Also, it’s not on the trouble, it’s on the double...!”

“Nwuh! Yume went and learned sumpkin else thing wrong, huh?!”

“N-Not sumpkin, something...!”

“Summin’, huh! Nice job, Shihoru! Thanks for pointin’ it out!”

“Not summin’, something! P-Put me down, Yume, please, my eyes really are...”

“Roger! Rodger dodger! Roger dodger dodger roger! Stoooop!”

Yume stopped spinning her, then rubbed her cheek against Shihoru.

Yume had always liked to get touchy feely with comrades of the same gender, but this was not normal. Most likely, having spent all that time working with a gumow, Yume had gotten tense in her own way. Thinking of that, Shihoru couldn’t tell her to stop anymore. Besides, Shihoru felt relaxed when Yume was touching her.

Though I’d be too embarrassed to ever say so. I can’t be as honest with myself as Yume is.

The coated gumow came after Yume. Tuokin, was it? If she recalled, she’d heard Yume call him that.

Tuokin was talking to Jessie about something. Was it Orcish, or the gumows’ own language? Either way, Shihoru couldn’t understand a word of it. But she found it odd.

Jessie crossed his arms, looked up to the sky, where the stars were beginning to show themselves. He tilted his head to the side with a pensive look. It gave her a premonition she couldn’t call good.

Shihoru had a tendency to imagine things getting worse and worse, even when that wasn’t true. She hoped that was all it was.